Resource of Interest

Pulse of the Planet features two-minute sound portraits of Planet Earth that track the rhythms of nature, culture, and science worldwide, and blend interviews and extraordinary natural sound. Pulse of the Planet is broadcast from over 300 public and commercial stations around the world and on the Voice of America and the Armed Forces Radio Network. In addition to the sound clips and podcasts, there are associated feature and seasonal stories describing the ways that scientists and the public interact with their environment. Sample audio programs are also available in Spanish through Pulso del Planeta.

Professional development opportunities

DataStreme Water in the Earth System (WES) Online is an innovative Internet-based distance-learning course directed towards middle-school teachers, but open to all K-12 teachers. The course incorporates inquiry-based instructional strategies and a holistic concept of Earth from oceanic, atmospheric, and terrestrial water and problem-focused perspectives. The 13-week course is offered twice a year to selected participants and is designed after the highly successful DataStreme distance-learning course. It investigates the mass and energy flows associated with the global water cycle, and related issues through the use of electronically transmitted environmental data and learning materials combined with Text and Study Guide readings and investigations. Course participants will be prepared as WES resource teachers. Through investigations of the global water cycle, they will demonstrate the value of Internet access to environmental information in classroom applications. All teachers involved will be prepared to promote Earth system studies across the school curriculum in support of the National Science Education Standards. Teachers of grades K-12 wishing to participate in the course are encouraged to contact the Local Implementation Team Leaders closest to them. To locate the LIT leader nearest you, and for more information about WES, visit http://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/WES/Join.html.

NSTA Web Seminars are 90-minute, live professional development experiences that use online learning technologies to allow participants to interact with nationally acclaimed experts, NSTA Press authors, and scientists, engineers, and education specialists from NSTA partners, such as NASA, NOAA, FDA, and the NSDL. The 2006-2007 series of Web Seminars continues with such topics as computational science, energy, and the International Polar Year. Learn more about the features of the Web Seminar and read answers to frequently asked questions from participants.

DLESE Collections News

Teaching Boxes create links between Earth system resources and classroom-ready instructional units (often 5-6 lesson plans and associated activities and procedures) that are designed to bridge the gap between educational resources and their implementation in the classroom. Materials model scientific inquiry, allowing teachers to build classroom experiences around data collection and analysis from multiple lines of evidence, and engaging students in the process of science. Features include an overview, goals, prerequisites, technology requirements, time requirements and concepts and standards. Suggestions for homework and assessment are available. The Teaching Boxes may be accessed directly at http://www.teachingboxes.org/.

The USGS Education Collection provides scientific data and activities about natural resources, natural hazards, geospatial data, and issues that affect quality of life. As an outreach project, it provides access to online material and educational resources that may be useful to K-12 educators and college instructors. Many resources can be used directly in the classroom (lessons, labs, demonstrations) or as resources for teacher education, curriculum development, and student research.

The BRIDGE Ocean Resources Collection provides access to ocean sciences education materials with particular emphasis on K-12 audiences and instructional materials. The BRIDGE collection also includes links to information about professional development opportunities for teachers. There is a strong focus on research data and its use in teaching. The collection provides educators with accurate and useful information on global, national, and regional ocean science topics, and gives researchers a contact point for educational outreach.

2007 Thacher Scholars Award

The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) announces the 2007 Thacher Scholars Award, an opportunity for student-designed investigations using satellite remote sensing data and imagery. This national competition for secondary school students (grades 9-12), founded in honor of former IGES board member Peter Thacher, includes three cash awards to students who design and conduct the best projects using satellite remote sensing of the Earth. In addition to prizes for the winning students, the teachers of student winners will receive an award. Visit the IGES web site for eligibility, resources, and contest rules. Signed, complete entries must be postmarked April 2, 2007. The names of the winning entries will be posted by May 2, 2007.

Earthcaching

The Geological Society of America (GSA) is sponsoring EarthCaching, an adventure game using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. An Earthcache is a special place that people can visit to learn about a unique geoscience feature or aspect of our Earth. Earthcaches do not use stored containers; their treasure is the lessons people learn about our planet when they visit the site. Earthcaches include a set of educational notes and the details about where to find the location (latitude and longitude). Visitors to Earthcaches can see how our planet has been shaped by geological processes, how we manage the resources and how scientists gather evidence to learn about the Earth. Earthcaches are developed by geocachers who have knowledge of geoscience and have an interesting earth feature near them and would like to share it with the world.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0215640 ( DLESE Program Center ).
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.